AfrikaBurn – the complete opposite of everything

If you’re looking for a total reset, try going to the desert for 10 days with no electricity, no running water, no connectivity, no money and no Woolies!

What there was at AfrikaBurn 2026, however, was an overwhelming sense of humanity – all the good bits, that is. The people in the Tankwa Karoo are generous, engaged and spirited. The artworks are astounding, the mood is electric and the doof-doof of EDM is constant.

Gregory and I trekked to the burn from Joburg with a trailer behind us and a luggage box on top. It’s a two-day trip each way, marking our commitment to experience what we’ve heard so much about over the years from our friends who have been.

We joined a theme camp called “The Huggas and the Little Bookie Nook”. A theme camp is a group of people who come together to share facilities such as stretch tents, showers, kitchen, lounge and dining area. There were about 30 people in our camp of varying ages (from 20s to 90s) and from all around the world. We all pulled our weight in the camp, setting up and striking the common areas, cooking for the group each day and supplying free hugs to passers-by.

The hugs, as well as a small library with books and crafting tables, were our camp’s gift to the burn – and they really were surprisingly popular. I’ll admit I was sceptical when we signed up. Imagine hugging random strangers for three hours a day in the middle of the desert! But we did. And they loved it! As did we.

There were surprises around every corner: A massage spot here, a mimosa bar there; tequila, coffee, pancakes, freshly squeezed juice, jaffles… you never knew what lay in store.  

And, of course, the burns – three nights of setting beautiful things on fire, symbolising release, impermanence and the idea that nothing lasts forever. There’s something strangely moving about watching thousands of people gathering around a giant artwork, knowing it took months to create and only minutes to disappear into flames.

AfrikaBurn is built on participation. Nobody is there simply to consume. Everyone contributes something, whether it’s music, food, performance art, a workshop, a hug, a cup of coffee or just a helping hand when someone’s bicycle tyre gives up in the dust. There’s very little ego in the desert. The CEO, the student, the artist and the accountant all stand in the same queue for ice, all get covered in the same dust and all become equally ridiculous in goggles and faux-fur coats.

And then there’s the fashion. Sequins, leather, neon tutus, metallic capes and outfits that can only be described as “post-apocalyptic disco wizard” seemed perfectly normal by day two. Somehow, in a place where people are free to express themselves however they choose, nobody really bats an eyelid.

It’s also impossible not to reflect on how dependent we’ve become on convenience. At home, if the WiFi is slow or the power trips, it feels like a crisis. In Tankwa, you become very aware of what actually matters: Shade, water, sunscreen, community, sleep, human connection…

Without phones constantly buzzing, people actually speak to each other. Properly. Conversations stretch out. Meals become occasions. Sunsets are watched instead of photographed. It felt less like escaping reality and more like returning to something we may have lost along the way.

Of course, it’s not always easy. The dust storms are real. The heat and the cold are intense. The toilets test both your spirit and your sense of smell. By the end, every single item you own carries a fine layer of Tankwa dust that may never fully disappear. But somehow, none of that matters. In fact, it’s probably part of the magic.

Will I go again? Ask me in a couple of weeks. Right now I am still decompressing and adjusting back to the default world.

What I can say is I will remember AfrikaBurn as chaotic, exhausting, noisy and deeply uncomfortable at times. But it’s also creative, kind, absurd and unexpectedly emotional. In a world increasingly driven by algorithms, schedules, advertising and endless scrolling, spending 10 days in a temporary city built on gifting, creativity and radical self-expression feels like the complete opposite of everything we have accepted as normal.